


Tiny

by Pandora (paperclipbutterfly)



Series: Plot Bunnies and Rogue Foxes [9]
Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: And a good sister, And it's a system that begs to be rigged, Because Nick has played this game before, But also takes the new guy under his wing, Culture Shock, F/M, Family Drama, Family Issues, Fluff and Angst, Hoo boy am I about to attempt romance?, Judy is Maid of Honor, Meet the Family, Nick is full of snark, Slice of Life, Wedding Fluff, Wedding Planning, good luck everyone
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:15:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24246358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paperclipbutterfly/pseuds/Pandora
Summary: Judy’s wayward sister and littermate Jackie comes home to put the finishing touches on her country-themed wedding to her fiancé. Though it’s hardly a shotgun wedding, certain details about her new beau seem to have been overlooked… like the fact that he is a Flemish Giant who stands a head taller than even Nick. Marriage vows are imminent as the Hoppses grapple with this familiar and yet alien sort of mammal that is about to join their family tree.
Relationships: Judy Hopps/Nick Wilde
Series: Plot Bunnies and Rogue Foxes [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1270664
Comments: 130
Kudos: 113





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> February of 2019 a BIIIIIG plot bunny hopped into Discord chat courtesy of Dancou-Maryuu. It's been marinating ever since and I finally have the first chapter nailed down so here it is! My first attempt at a bonafide WildeHopps story. I do hope you enjoy it. <3

Nick’s eyes glazed over as he stared at the board of arriving and departing flights in front of him. Times flashed beside flight numbers, changed by a minute or two with some update from the control tower, and then switched to a completely different set of flights before he was even halfway through the list. He gave up as Judy finally came to save him with a hot double expresso coffee.

“Couldn’t we just wait in the truck until they land?” he asked, blinking at the cup she thrust into his paw.

“Absolutely not!” Judy said, looking up at him with an appalled expression. “It’s bad luck not to have family waiting at the gate when you leave the plane.”

He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, okay… well, since I’m only honorary Hopps family, how about if _I_ just— _oof_!”

A backpaw to the gut stopped his words cold as he received the irritated glare the little rabbit was giving him. He returned the annoyed expression and took a swig of his drink.

“Fine. But you owe me for dragging me out of bed at the ass-crack of dawn.” A sudden yawn hit him and he clipped it short with a click of his teeth.

Now Judy rolled her eyes. “It’s not that early.”

“Four in the morning is a godless hour.”

“You’re such a baby.” She smiled and looked at the board for a few seconds before leaping up in surprise. “SON OF A BISCUIT THEIR FLIGHT IS ALREADY LANDED WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME??”

Judy grabbed his paw and started to drag him off in the apparent direction of the gate that her sister and her new fiancé would be at.

“I can barely form coherent thoughts right now,” Nick replied in a completely emotionless monotone. “Asking me to read that board was never going to end in anything but disappointment. You only have yourself to blame.”

She ignored his jibe and hauled him as fast as her bunny legs would allow across the terminal. In the entire history of the Hopps clan, very few family members had ventured even a few miles away from home but Judy’s sister Jackie—littermate, in point of fact—was one of them. There was no way she was going to miss seeing her and her new fiancé the moment they arrived. To be the first face she saw right out of the gate…

And to welcome her home.

* * *

Jacqueline Lorelei Hopps was the only other bunny born in Judy’s litter. Unlike her sister, Jackie loved everything about country living and farm life, though in a much different way than her father and mother. Smart, enthusiastic, and in love with the natural world, she pursued higher education in botany and horticulture. When an opportunity to research advances in hydroponics came up overseas, she leapt at the offer. It had been two years since she’d been home.

They made it to the gate just as the doors opened to allow the arriving mammals to disembark. Judy breathed a heavy sigh of relief while Nick just breathed heavily.

“Couldn’t have kept it in first or second gear, Fluff?” he panted, and readjusted his crooked tie. “You had to go straight into overdrive?”

“Good thing I did or we wouldn’t have made it in time, dumb fox,” she griped as she crossed her arms with a testy thump of her foot. “Now quit slouching and at least _attempt_ to look semi-respectable.”

“Excuse you. I’m the picture of class here, as usual.” He gestured down at his more-on-the-casual-side of business-casual attire. “You’re the one sporting some kind of half-threadbare country chic getup.”

Judy tilted her nose high, mostly to keep from looking down at herself. Her casual clothes weren’t _that_ bad. There was only one hole in the knee of her jeans, and her yellow collar shirt still had all of its buttons—which were all in their proper button-holes, thank you very much.

“Well, we’re going right back to the farm once we pick them up, after all,” she said as her ears sank, and she turned to scan the crowd of mammals that had entered the terminal from the gate. “Besides… they’re family. If you can’t dress down for family, who can you dress down for?”

“I’m just teasing.” His soft breath ruffled the fur under her cheek and sent a pleasant chill up her spine. She turned to find his playful smile filling up her sight. “It’s actually unfair how good everything looks on you.”

Judy rolled her eyes and nudged against his side. “Stop it.”

He straightened himself back up as his smile deepened. “I bet you could wear a potato sack and you’d still look drop-dead gorgeous.”

She cast him a sideways glance and raised an eyebrow. “I’m not a potato, but it still sounds like you’re trying to butter me up for something.”

Nick blinked and scratched at the back of his head as his ears flagged sheepishly. “Was I that obvious? Must be off my game.” He turned his gaze out to the mammals milling around the gate. “Guess I was hoping for a bit more time alone while we were on this little mini-vacation. Feels like the ride here was the most time we’ve spent together without half of a kerfluffle in tow.”

Judy sighed. “Such is warren life, I’m afraid.” She leaned against him and slipped her arm around his, eyes and voice aimed at the floor. “I’m sorry. It has been crazy, standing in for Jackie and getting everything together for the wedding and all. But she’ll take over for the final preparations and we’ll be able to steal some quality ‘us’ time away from the family soon. Bunny Scout’s honor.”

“Ooohh, Bunny Scout’s honor.” A gentle finger came under her chin to tilt her face up. “I’ll be holding you to that.”

She smiled. “You won’t need to.”

Her soft kiss on his lips sealed the promise and Judy gave a contented little sigh as his paw wrapped around her shoulders to pull her closer. They went back to watching the gate for signs of their charges.

“I think you’re right, at any rate,” Nick said eventually. “Your sister and her new beau will hopefully take some of the attention away from us from here on out. What did you say they were up to again? Underwater farms?”

“Well, kind of. They do have underwater crops that they’re growing to help fund their main research. Kelp, specifically.”

Nick wrinkled his nose. “ _Gag_. Why that?”

Judy turned her paw over her wrist. “Well, most of the world is water, but most of that water is seawater and unsuitable for farming normal crops. One crop that can grow perfectly well in seawater, though, is kelp. And it’s low in calories and high in vitamins and nutrients. You’d be surprised how many things use it.” She ticked off her fingers as she said, “There’s shampoo, toothpaste, vitamin supplements, pudding…”

He gave a dramatic gasp. “Not pudding!” He threw his arm over his eyes and said, “One of my favorite snacks, ruined by health food.”

She swatted him lightly in the chest and stuck her tongue out in additional dismissal. “It’s been in that snack for years and I doubt you ever even noticed.”

“I’ll never be able to look at pudding the same way again.” He quirked an eyebrow. “But then what’s the main research they’re doing?”

“Floating fields.” Judy looked up with that knowing half-smile she gave him when she was going to impart some farm learnin’ on his city mammal brain. “Farming is hard on the land, and as more of the land is used to house more mammals there is less of it that can be used to grow the very crops that are needed to feed them. An alternative is to figure out a way to grow crops in areas that are considered unsuitable for mammal life, like—”

“Oceans.” Nick nodded. “Clever bunnies.”

“They really are.” Judy beamed proudly. “It’s fascinating, highly technical stuff. They want to start a small-scale hydroponic farm in the bay, see how it holds up under different weather conditions from where they’ve been working.”

“Ambitious. Like another bunny I know.” He winked and nudged her in the side. “Good thing it was only you and Jackie in your litter. You two must have run Bonnie and Stu ragged.”

Judy laughed. “I bet they break out all the real good, embarrassing stories for Anton at dinner tonight after we… oh, there she is!” She broke out from Nick’s sideways embrace and hopped into the air with excitement. She waved both paws high above her head to get her sibling’s attention. “Jackie! Over here!”

Judy’s littermate had the same uncontainable energy as her sister, as well as their mother’s eyes. Pretty, sepia-colored fur ended in dark ears and paws. She gave an exuberant wave back and zipped through the crowd over to where Judy and Nick stood. The force of Jackie’s hug with Judy gave Nick a vicarious slipped disc, and he took a step back just in case there was runoff friendliness that might spill over onto him. Judy seemed to absorb the shock well enough, and they broke their embrace to hold each other at arm’s length as they chattered a mile a minute.

“…so good to see you finally…!”

“…such a thick coat you grew…!”

“…and hear all about that scandal last year from the source…”

“…Dad can’t wait to show you all the new equipment, he’s so proud…”

Another enormous squeeze and the chittering ended. Jackie flipped her ear back over her shoulder with a wide smile.

“Goodness, I’m so glad to be back. I’ve missed home so much.”

“Home has missed you,” Judy said with an equally wide smile.

Jackie’s eyes wandered away from her sister and to the fox standing patiently beside her. She gave him a cursory look all up and down.

“And this must be Nick,” she said, eyebrow popped up mischievously. “The fount of never-ending snark.”

“As advertised.” He swept a dramatic bow and tilted his head. “Good to finally meet the other half of the infamous ‘Double Trouble’ duo at last.”

“‘Other’?” Jackie gestured at herself with flair. “I think you mean _better_.”

Judy gave her a light backpaw to the arm. “Hah, you wish, Jacks.” She looked around; there was a conspicuous dearth of rabbits nearby. “Speaking of other halves, where’s yours?”

Jackie waved her paw carelessly. “He’ll be here any minute. One of the bags had to get checked when we had our layover so he was waiting to grab it.”

“Was the flight rough?”

“Not particularly. Kind of entertaining, actually.” She laughed. “Anton hasn’t strayed far from his hometown his whole life, so seeing other species aside from rabbits was a whole new experience. I’ve never seen him so excited.”

“Awww, how sweet! Well, glad you had a safe, easy flight over. Now we can finally put the finishing touches on this shindig together. I know everyone is looking forward to… meeting…”

Nick was already staring frozen in shock when Judy finally saw him, and her words trailed off as he came up behind Jackie with their luggage.

Judy didn’t think that God made rabbits that big, but she was obviously mistaken. He didn’t walk so much as _lumbered_ , and was a head taller even than Nick. Cream-colored fur from head to toe, neatly dressed in a polo shirt with a trendy logo on the chest. His long ears looked like they had a permanent flop to them, hanging down on either side of his head. His girth notwithstanding, there was something mildly _off_ about his face, an asymmetry that was hard to nail down until attempting an expression. She only managed to blink out of her rather impolite staring when she heard Jackie launch into introductions.

“Anton Fleming,” he said, then smiled a slow, dopey kind of smile that half his face didn’t actually move with as he put the luggage on the floor. His words were as slow as his gait. He reached out a brick-sized paw to shake. “It is so much a pleasure to meet you both.”

“The ah… pleasure is ours,” Nick said as he shook with a slight wince. He clenched and unclenched his paw as he drew it back and added, “Might want to adjust that vice grip of yours.”

“Ah, sorry,” Anton said and apparently gave Judy a less robust shake. “Comes from long days wrestling boat lines and rigging. You must hold tight or they will have their way with you.”

“I bet.” Judy gave a small smile. “You must have plenty of stories to tell.”

“And just you try and stop me from telling them,” Jackie said, grinning wide up at her mate. She started to walk off as she said, “Let’s get a move on, slow pokes! I’m itching for some good country food and proper moonshine. I can’t tell you what the drink situation has been like over there, yikes…”

Anton chuckled and hefted their bags up to amble along behind her. Nick and Judy just stood and stared after them before exchanging awkward glances. They followed with distracted steps, Nick assessing the two rabbits in front of them while Judy scrolled through her phone as she walked. She held the screen up in front of his face to show him a photograph that she’d pulled up on it.

A cloudy sky in the background made the atmosphere seem dull and drab, but the three rabbits in the foreground had big smiles on their faces. Anton was in the middle between two brown and equally massive bucks, coils of rope and ship rigging at their feet. It was impossible to tell from the surroundings the size of the three males; only that they were on a boat and happily posing for the camera.

“Jackie said he was tall but…” Judy shook her head and pulled her phone back to look at the picture again. “I really had no idea.”

“I wonder if your parents have a clear appreciation of this, either,” Nick said, the volume of his voice turned down to the lowest possible decibel.

She bit her lip and stared at the screen. “I should probably send them a text—”

“Judy! Nick!” They both snapped their heads back up from their collusive conversation, big forced grins plastered automatically on their muzzles. Jackie waved at them; she and Anton were well ahead now and pointed at the restrooms. “Making a quick pitstop, okay?”

Judy gave an equally hearty wave back and said, “We’ll wait out here for you!”

She and Nick closed the gap quickly. Anton left the luggage at the bench on the other side of the aisle as they approached and then the two ducked into their respective bathrooms. The fox and bunny duo parked themselves there to wait for the couple to return. Nick’s face was tight with contemplation from the moment they sat themselves down. He eventually leaned back against the wall and pointed.

“How does that even work, anyway?”

“What?”

“You know.” He made an obscene motion with his paws. “Hopping on the good foot and doing the bad thing.”

Judy’s jaw dropped, appalled. “Nick!”

“What? He’s huge!” he said bluntly, and then gestured generally across the aisle. “She’d get crushed if he rolled over on her!”

Judy huffed and thumped her foot as she pointed her finger up into his face. “That’s my _sister_ you’re talking about, buster. You better watch yourself.”

He put his paws up. “Sheesh, okay, it was just a question.” He paused, and then added anyway, “Jackie must be a top.”

Judy smacked his arm. “MY GOD, SHUT UP.”

He shrugged. “I’m just sayin’.” Then his face went blank and mouth hung open slightly. “Wait… do other mammals think that when they see us, too?”

Her nostrils flared. “Nick, I _swear_ if you don’t stop right now…!”

The threat didn’t get much further as a slow, playfully antagonistic smile spread over his muzzle. She couldn’t help the smile that tugged at her own, and shoved him good-naturedly with a soft, “Dumb fox.”

Nick waggled his eyebrows. “Admit it, you love me.”

“Much to my dismay,” she replied and blew him a raspberry.

“Whew, alright!” They both turned at Jackie’s pleasant exclamation as both she and Anton stopped in front of the bench. “That was _soooo_ necessary, ugh. Now I’ve got all the room I need for a nice, _big_ breakfast.”

“Oh, of course,” Judy said as she and Nick rose to their feet. “We were holding off eating until we picked you up. I was thinking that maybe we could treat you to breakfast at The Smorgasbord?”

Jackie jumped up and down and clapped her paws in excitement. “Ooooohhhh, you read my _mind_ , Jude. I’ve told Anton all about it already. Sound good to you too, hun-bun?”

He gave a single nod in agreement with that same slow and dopey smile. She beamed up him and settled in at the hip that wasn’t taken up by luggage before they all started off again toward the exit and the truck.

The two carry-on bags that Anton was holding accounted for all the luggage that they had for the trip. The rest of their belongings—as well as Jackie’s wedding gown—would be arriving via freight over the next few days.

Considering the amount of room the truck had for the four mammals, this was fortunate.

“Ohhh,” Jackie said as she came up to Stu’s old farm truck. It was obvious that they would not all fit in the cab. “I… kinda forgot how small it is, wow.” She looked at her sister sheepishly. “Sorry. I didn’t expect to make a problem right out of the gate.”

“This is not a problem,” Anton said lightly, hauling their two bags and then himself into the back bed of the truck. “You have the seats, _mijn kleine liefde_. I think I will rather have a full view of the countryside anyway.”

Jackie beamed and leapt up to plant a big kiss on his cheek.

“You’re the absolute best,” she said with an abbreviated choke-hold of a hug around his neck before she squeezed herself through the open cab window and into the middle seat.

Judy and Nick exchanged the same looks that they had back at the gate. With tight smiles they also climbed up into the cab on either side of Jackie. The doors shut and the motor gave a hiccupping start, then trundled sluggishly out of the parking lot of Deerbrook County’s O’Hare Airport. Off they drove toward Bunnyburrow and what Nick was certain would be a rather… _interesting_ … breakfast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to LordKraus for spot-checking that the ship levels were high enough. ^_^ Hope you all enjoyed this beginning. 'til next time! <3


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter of the big bunny saga is here. I almost feel bad about the nonsense I plan to put this poor guy through.
> 
>  _Almost._ XD
> 
> Enjoy!

The Hundred Acre Wood Smorgasbord Old Country Buffet and Giftshop (known locally as just The Smorgasbord) was built fifty years prior by a family of Coney Island rabbits, and had been continuously run by their descendants ever since it opened its doors.

Doors that were meant for rabbit-sized rabbits.

For both Nick and Anton, it was a comedy of errors to squeeze themselves through the entrance. They eventually did manage the feat… only to be informed doors suitable for larger-sized mammals were on the other side of the building. There were more than a few snickers from nearby patrons at the spectacle, and Judy was thankful that the hostess was able to seat them immediately.

All of this rolled right off of Jackie, and she was still chattering with excitement as the long food stations and quaint tables came into view. The dining room was the size of a barn (which was, in fact, its original purpose), and had a high ceiling with two open loft areas to allow for even more tables. Strings of white lights were strung around the beams and poles to drive off some of the shadows cast by the long industrial bulbs overhead. An assortment of indoor planters with snake plants and meticulously manicured miniature trees added to the charming, rustic décor.

“Oooohhh, I have been craving some veggie soufflé for weeks,” Jackie said as she dumped her bag in a chair at the four-top they were led to. “I hope they have spinach puffs today… oh, I smell cinnamon rolls! Mine!”

Off she darted toward the stations. Anton followed in her enthusiastic wake with an unhurried gait, even as she turned around to urge him to catch up. Judy gave drink orders to their hostess while Nick eyed the very modest-sized table and chairs.

“Might be a tad snug for… some,” he said, taking an approximation of the seat with his paws spread apart and then comparing it against his own hips. “Are there any bigger tables? Or at least wider chairs?”

“Not inside at the moment,” the smokey gray rabbit hostess said with an apologetic look. “There are a few sets that are meant for larger mammals, but they’re all on the back-patio, and I know that they’ve been taken up by an extended white-tail deer family. They only just sat down.”

“I’m sure this will be fine,” Judy said with a wave of her paw. “It’s cozy.”

Nick snorted. “Says you. I’m not keen on having my elbows end up in someone else’s plate. Especially someone I barely know yet.”

“All the more reason to keep your elbows off the table, right?” Judy threw a playful smirk over her shoulder as she also started toward the food stations. “You’ve been practicing that, haven’t you?”

Nick opened his mouth for a retort but abandoned it, staring instead after the subtly swaying bunny hips. He sighed and smiled as he pulled up the rear, making his way over to the array of foodstuffs set out for their selection.

And what a selection there was. Four buffet stations were laid out all along one wall with two additional stands for plates, bowls, and silverware on either end. The bars were filled with all manner of country breakfast dishes to choose from: one held hash brown casserole, potato pancakes, grits, and oatmeal; another sweet pastries, bagels, muffins, and pies; yet another was an extensive salad bar with simple greens and all manner of beans and nuts. The last station had more predator-specific dishes, including scrambled eggs, deep fried cicadas, and a heaping tray of smoked fish.

The barn door to the patio was open, allowing for those eating outdoors to come back in to get seconds and thirds. There was no real line to speak of; the guests (mostly rabbits) just milled about arbitrarily from one station to another to peruse what was on the menu and pile their plates high when they found something to their liking.

Jackie was the one who was mostly deciding what was to Anton’s liking, ladling scoops of this and that onto either of the two plates he was holding as they went along.

“Oh, and you have to try their apple cake,” Jackie insisted as she wedged a slice into the last bit of room left. “It’s so good here… so much better than mine.”

Anton gave an expression of mild affront and said, “I will be the judge of that, thank you.”

She laughed and turned to tell Judy and Nick, “Anton loves everything I cook for him. He’s really put on quite a few pounds since we met.” She beamed up at him. He bent down at her obvious appeal to nuzzle noses and they headed back to the dining room.

“What the hell has she been feeding him?” Nick whispered into Judy’s ear as he topped off his own plate with some lox. “Small children?”

“ _Nick_ …” she hissed back.

“I’m just saying,” he said and grabbed a blueberry muffin as they swung back toward the table, “if one of the kits goes missing, you make sure all the fingers point thataway.”

Judy shook her head. “Could you attempt to rein in the sass for just one meal?”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Nick said, and then tapped his chin. “What about tasteless jokes?”

“Oh God, please no.”

“Clever wordplay?”

“How about,” Judy said and poked his arm playfully, “you break out a little Nick Wilde charm instead? Be the delight I know is lounging around in there somewhere under all the sleep deprivation.”

Nick wrinkled his nose at the suggestion and said in his best pretending-to-be-put-upon voice, “Well, if you _insist_.” He smiled down at her. “The things I do for you, Fluff.”

“Are ever appreciated.”

Nick’s ears bolted upright in surprise from the stealthy butt pinch he received as she swept behind him to take her seat. His practiced smirk wavered as she sat and threw him an unbearably mischievous look. She raised an eyebrow in obvious challenge.

“Sly bunny,” he murmured under his breath as he wriggled into the short seat and set his plate carefully down in what little table space remained.

It was relatively quiet at first as the other couple had already started in on their food with gusto, but Nick was determined to fix that. He angled himself sideways, crossing his legs and draping an elbow behind the seat back as he turned toward Anton.

“So, Tiny,” he said and gave his blueberry muffin a bite while relishing the dirty look Judy was giving him, “how are you liking this side of the pond so far?”

Anton paused mid-chew. He raised an eyebrow (the one on his good side) and cast an inquiring glance at Judy.

“Please don’t mind the _nick_ name,” she said sweetly and shot her partner a look that would have even put holes in his Kevlar vest. “He’s under the misconception that he’s funny.”

The big rabbit smiled, swallowed, and then waved his fork in dismissal. “Ah, well, that’s fine. I have given out pet names plenty, though I tend to reserve them for family and close mates.” He leaned over toward Nick and said in a stage whisper, “I’m flattered you are so taken with me so soon, but I’m spoken for already.”

Jackie and Judy laughed at the fox’s sour face, though his smirk was quickly recovered. Though the new bunny talked slow and low, he was clearly sharper than he appeared. Nick attempted to parry. “Woe is me. Well, I’m sure I’ll find some way to weather that devastating rejection.” He tossed the rest of the muffin in his mouth and swept the ensuing rain of crumbs from his lap. “You don’t know what you’re missing, pal.”

“Perhaps I will consult an advisor for some idea.” Anton turned to Judy. “What am I missing?”

Judy gave Nick a bright grin and immediately let it turn lukewarm before she replied, “Ehhh… nothing you’d lament being without.”

She immediately rubbed her head against his shoulder playfully amidst the ensuing laughter. Nick put his paw to his chest dramatically, though his smile never wavered.

“Ouch. Utter betrayal. Well, that’ll teach me to try and start a friendly conversation.” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “I’d appreciate it if you all could turn me over so I can be evenly roasted on both sides, thanks.”

Anton look a long drink of water to wash down the rest of his laughter. “To answer your question, it’s beautiful country here. I have never seen so much open land.”

“I thought you all worked farms over there, too.”

“The Heatherlands are below sea level,” Jackie said, popping a spinach puff in her cheek and continuing between chews. “There are dikes and levees holding back the sea, but the water table is so high flooding is super common. Most of the food staples are water harvests like rice and kelp… and also a lot of shellfish. One in three families make their livings farming the ocean.”

“Explains all the nautical talk,” Judy chimed in. “Is that what your family does, then, Anton? Trawling?”

“What little family still remains, yes.”

There was a sadness in his reply and he picked at his plate a bit sullenly for a moment. Nick and Judy exchanged a meaningful glance. The fox stabbed at a piece of his smoked fish and pointed it at Anton.

“Mammal of the sea like you must have opinions about sea _food_ , then,” he said, and waggled his eyebrows. “Particular palate for any beasties of the briny deep? Tell me: just how badly are these inland bunnies butchering the stuff?”

Well, that lifted the mood immediately. Anton’s face brightened and Jackie launched into a lively tirade about all the time they’d spent out on the boat harvesting kelp fields; creative licenses that she had to take in the boat’s galley and how it compared to the cuisine back on the docks; and the designs they had for their own operation they planned to build in the bay out toward Zootopia. Anton mostly let her do the talking, interjecting only small details here and there. He listened attentively and ate, a pleased, lopsided smile on his face. There was a lot of eating and refills throughout the lively conversation until at last all their plates were empty.

Jackie leaned back in her chair and patted her middle. “Well, I’m full as a tick.”

“As am I,” Anton agreed, stretching his arms overhead. “It was all very delicious.”

Nick pointed at him glibly. “But the lox could have been better.”

He smiled. “But the lox could have been better.”

“Well, now that we’re not running on fumes anymore,” Judy said and looked down at her cell phone as she stood, “let’s get back on the road. We should make it back before Dad starts out into the fields with the first shift. I’ll just text them our ETA real quick—”

Nick eased out of his chair carefully. “And maybe mention that Bonnie should increase the yields for dinner?” he suggested quietly as he regarded the multiple plates stacked on the table around Anton’s place.

Judy nodded and started to tap away at her phone screen. Jackie also rose to her feet and Anton attempted to follow suit, except his chair stubbornly refused to let him leave it. He gave a low, surprised squeak at the hanger-on that was firmly latched to his rump, and attempted to shake it off as Jackie went to help him.

“Whoa whoa whoa hold it, hun!” she said, tugging at the arm to no avail. “Quit wiggling!”

Nick groaned. “For pity’s sake…”

He miraculously managed not to face-palm himself as Judy abandoned her text and also sprinted over to help. The three of them tugging only ended up throwing the Flemish rabbit off balance. Rather than risk falling on any of them, he opted to try and set the chair back on the floor. The force of that action was spectacularly miscalculated, and the chair split as the legs splayed out to the sides. He landed on his butt hard enough to make the plates at the tables nearby jump. There was complete silence in the dining hall, all eyes now staring at the scene the four of them had made.

 _Now_ Nick face-palmed.

“Check, please.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A _taste_ of things to come. XD See you next chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The secret to quality angst is to add a little and then let it _marinate_. XD
> 
> The big bunny saga moves right along. Enjoy!

The cab was quiet at first as Judy drove the last leg past the rolling open fields toward the Hopps farmland and house. Jackie opted to join Anton in the truck bed to ease the lingering humiliation. Nick had a tense expression on his face as they sorted things out with the restaurant owners and hadn’t said anything since. He was staring out the window now, muzzle set sullenly in his paw.

“Well,” Judy said evenly, attempting to fill the spaces in between the road noise as they began the final stretch down the long gravel lane that led to the house. “I guess that could have gone worse?”

Nick snorted. “I don’t see how. If this is a precursor to what’s in store for the rest of this visit, I’m inclined to just drop our gift in Jackie’s paws and catch the next train back to Zootopia.”

“Come on, Nick, don’t be like that.”

“I’m just embarrassed for the big dope. Tiny’s gonna be a real fish out of water here. He has absolutely no idea what he’s about to walk into.”

“ _Oh_?” He cringed at the tone that had shifted subtly to one with all the coiled-up menace of a snare ready to spring. “And what, pray tell, is he about to walk into?”

Nick thought fast. “Well, I mean… probably _doorframes,_ for one thing.”

Judy snerked a throaty laugh and then looked thoroughly annoyed about it. Nick continued along that train of thought; it seemed he had chosen the proper method of diffusing the ticking conversation bomb.

“Think about it. I can just get by in your family’s warren, and the ceilings are still almost too low for me. I have to tuck my ears back in places to be comfortable. He’s gonna clock his noggin at least twice a day, guaranteed.”

Judy sighed, her face wrinkling in uncertainty. “At least it’s only for a few days. They’ll have their own place after the wedding, their own land and a dock by the bay. Plenty of space there. We just have to make it work for the week.”

There was a sudden thump from the bed behind them, and Nick gave a quick glance back to find that Jackie had bounced up on her tiptoes to lean over the roof. She was calling out to the wide-open fields and warren with uncontained joy. Nick smiled and patted Judy’s leg.

“Well, if anyone can make it work out, it’s you, sweetheart.”

Judy slipped her paw from the steering wheel and gave his a gentle squeeze. “It’s _us_. We’ve cracked tougher nuts than this. With team WildeHopps on the case, what could go wrong?”

Nick threw his paws up. “Aaaaaand just like that you jinx the whole thing.”

Judy laughed. “I did not.”

“ _Doooooooooomed._ ”

She beeped the horn to announce their arrival as she pulled the truck up to the Hopps home at last. “Stop it! It’s going to be fine.”

Nick unbuckled his seatbelt with a non-committal, “If you say so, Fluff.”

The Hopps Family Farm was set on a thousand acres of well-maintained, sun-kissed fields that sprawled out around a relatively small house that was built directly into the only hill among them. Most of the home itself was below the ground, something the deceptively small and quaint house face gave little indication of from the road. Barns and silos were positioned strategically nearby, as well as a few enclosures holding chickens and a stable for the riding rheas. An awning covered over a wide porch that held rocking chairs and a hanging swing. Immense pots of flowers were set to either side of the steps that led down to the driveway.

Bonnie and Stu were just coming out of the front door of the exterior house to greet them, as were many of Judy’s siblings, nieces, and nephews. They piled onto the front patio, appeared from around the side of the house, and emerged from the fields two and three at a time. Nick and Judy threw the doors open and hopped out of the cab. They’d barely set their feet on the ground before Jackie leapt down and tore past, straight toward the gathering fluffle. She made it to her parents just in time for an enormous hug before the cloud of fluffy family members converged around them.

The chattering of dozens of voices mingled into a joyous clamor as Jackie greeted the colony gathered around her and her parents.

“…so glad you’re back…!”

“…too long, we missed you so much…!”

“…Where did all this thick fur come from, you look like a chinchilla…!”

“…I can’t wait to show you the new combine, Jacks, you’ll jus love it…”

“…and finally meet this handsome buck of yours at last.”

Bonnie smiled as she and Stu released Jackie from their embrace. She took them by their paws and led them down the stairs toward the truck, still talking at them the whole way. The heads of the Hopps family were all smiles right up until they reached the gravel driveway and their expressions gave way to… well, something that couldn’t rightly be called smiling anymore, at the very least.

Nick followed their gazes and found Anton was now standing up in the truck bed, gathering the luggage under each arm as he prepared to jump to the ground. Nick leaned over toward Judy.

“Did you ever text your mother, Carrots?” he asked from the corner of his mouth.

“I did!” she replied back from the corner of hers. “Right when we were… oh, _snap peas_.” She drew her phone from her pocket and her face fell as they both eyed the incomplete, unsent message on the screen that she had started at the restaurant. They exchanged a grim look.

The truck leaned as the big bunny set his foot up on the panel of the bed, then rocked as he leapt clear. He managed to stick the landing with an impressive _THUD_ that Nick swore he felt in his knees, and then turned to greet his future in-laws.

Nick was fairly certain neither Jackie nor Anton noticed it yet, but it was painfully obvious to him. The hushed murmuring that came over the many voices, the wide-eyed gaping stare most of the rabbits were now making. Not so much in horror, really, but a kind of unpleasant surprise. The guarded reservations hiding behind thin, strained expressions that tried to pass for smiles.

He remembered this kind of reception all too well.

And there was Jackie, already launching excitedly into introductions. Bonnie and Stu jerked as she said their names, finally regaining some semblance of control. They craned their heads back and offered a limp wave up at her fiancé.

“…and this is Anton,” she finished, face still exuberant and blissfully unaware of the awkward undertone that was buzzing beneath everything.

He put down the luggage and was about to give his own greetings, but she didn’t stop there. Instead, she started gesturing at family groupings of the bunnies behind them and then the singular siblings who hadn’t begun new families themselves yet. Anton’s eyes glazed over at the mass of little bodies before him and his nose twitched. Nick thought he could pinpoint the moment that the lightbulb finally flickered on.

 _This_ was what he was walking into.

“There are… so many for such a small house.”

Jackie laughed. “Don’t be silly! This isn’t even half the family here, and that’s just the entryway to the mudroom. The rest of the warren is underground. I’m sure I told you about that, didn’t I?”

From Anton’s subtle headshake, it didn’t seem that she had.

Bonnie tapped on her daughter’s shoulder lightly. “Why don’t we save the rest for at dinner, Jackie? It’s getting on time your father and the first wave head out for the mornin’.”

“The sun waits for no bunny,” Stu added, squinting up at the massive rabbit that wasn’t quite blocking the sun’s bright morning rays. He put out his paw toward him, though a tad hesitantly. “Good to meet you, Bud.”

Anton clasped it automatically. “Likewise, sir.”

“Remember to go easy on the old mam with that grip of yours, Tiny,” Nick said as Judy’s father winced. “He needs those paws for the fieldwork, right Stu?”

“Heh, right you are,” Stu agreed. He rubbed his paw as he broke from the shake and then tipped his hat. “Well, I’ll be catchin’ up with you folks tonight, then.”

“Oh, we can come out to join you after lunch, Dad!” Jackie said after him and bounced up on her tiptoes as he froze in place. “I want to show Anton the old baler I rebuilt, or even the beehives… have you gathered honey recently? Because we could definitely—”

“ _Not,_ ” Judy interrupted her sister gently and waved her father on, “that those things wouldn’t be an excellent way to spend your first day back, Jacks, but I really need you to sit down with me sooner than later. You know, go over what’s been set up for the wedding? Final prep? Ringing a bell?”

“Oh… right.” Jackie flagged her ears and her shoulders sagged, thoroughly abashed. “Applesauce, I’m sorry, Jude. I… well, not that I forgot, I just…”

“Got excited?” she suggested and then hip-checked her sister with a smirk. “Color me surprised!”

Judy laughed and Jackie joined in after a few beats. “I’m all yours, then, but what about these two?”

Judy put her finger to her chin in thought at the same time that Nick clapped his paw on Anton’s shoulder with a roguish wink.

“Lemme go ahead and take charge of Tiny for a few hours.” Both Judy and Jackie raised their eyebrows. Nick hammed it up just a fraction more with a big thumbs-up. “I’m sure we can manage to keep out of trouble until you ladies have gotten caught up on business.”

“Hmmmmm.” Judy narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. “No hustles.”

Nick gave his most innocent face. “Perish the thought.”

Judy’s hard glare didn’t survive contact with the angelic expression he was giving her. She heaved a resigned sigh.

“Oh, alright. Just… get the bags to their room and maybe do an abbreviated tour for a little while or something. We shouldn’t be too long.” She gave Anton a soft, apologetic smile. “I’ll have her back to you soon as I can. Promise.”

Jackie bounced up for a quick peck on his cheek. “Be good and don’t get yourself lost.”

“I’m confident my inner compass will lead me back to you, _mijn noordster_ ,” he said, and smoothed her ears back with just the tips of his fingers. “Enjoy.”

Jackie gave him a quick squeeze around his waist and then followed behind Judy toward the barn that was going to be used for the wedding at week’s end. She turned back halfway for a big wave overhead, to which Anton gave a small one of his own before hefting the luggage back up under his arms once more.

“Well then,” he said evenly, face so impassively neutral Nick couldn’t help but be impressed. “Lead the way.”

Nick swung his gaze back toward the Hopps matriarch and asked, “Which wing should we aim toward, Bonnie?”

“Well, the west addition was where I’d made up the room, but…” She chewed her lip. “Now I’m thinkin’ maybe I’ll need to add another mattress. Just put the bags in 3A in the meantime and I’ll sort out the rest after the morning chores are through.”

Nick clicked his tongue with an A-OK gesture. Bonnie began herding the still loitering bunnies away from the driveway. Some turned tail and went hopping off into the nearby fields to avoid the machine-gun assignment of chores she was firing here and there. Others filed back through the entryway. Nick turned in this direction himself and stuck his paws in his pockets.

“We’re gonna head over here, Tiny,” he said, veering off toward the side of the house. “Stu raised the jamb on the side entrance last year. You shouldn’t have to duck too much.”

The interior of the above-ground structure was a wide-open space used as a mudroom just as Jackie had said. There were baskets of towels and hooks to hang them on, as well as chutes to throw the soiled ones in after they were used. Troughs lined the walls with water spickets poking out at regular intervals. Thick bristle mats lined these troughs, and the bunnies that had filed inside were busy taking turns washing mud or brushing gravel dust off the bottoms of their feet. They then headed toward the big arch that led to the main stairwell into the burrows below.

Nick gave his feet a light swipe on the mats, as did Anton.

“I do wish Bonnie would replace those mats with ones that don’t make me feel like I’m grating my paw pads with coarse sandpaper,” Nick grumbled, lifting his foot to rub his toes a moment

“I offer condolences to your feet.” Anton looked around at all the bustle. “Seems something of a waste to devote time and space to keep dirt from entering a dwelling that is constructed with it.”

Nick gave a short laugh. “Hold that thought until you’ve seen the place, Tiny.”

He moved toward the big archway. Anton followed close behind, though when Nick started down the immense stone stairs, he hesitated.

Nick stopped and turned back when he noticed he no longer had a big bunny shadow behind him. He stepped aside just in time to narrowly avoid a collision with one of the exuberant youngsters that bolted past him.

“What?”

Anton tightened his grip on the bags. “Those… are very steep.”

“A perceptive observation.” Nick turned and beckoned him to keep walking down the steps. “You won’t need to carry those down more than one flight, don’t worry.”

Anton managed to pry his feet from the floor and muttered, “The luggage is not what worries me.”

Nick’s ears swiveled at the unmistakable undertone. “Wait… does this make you _uncomfortable_?”

“I’m just not used to being below ground.”

“Wow,” Nick scoffed. “A rabbit that’s afraid of burrows. Now I’ve really seen it all.”

“My country floods every time it rains.” The crisp words were accompanied by a slight, annoyed chirring. “If we lived below ground, we would drown.”

“Oh. Well, that’s… interesting.” They were mercifully just coming up to the landing that they would be getting off at. Nick stepped off and turned with an exaggerated fearful face. “You’re not going to faint on top of me, are you Tiny? If Judy’s family finds me under another mammal, I will literally never live down the scandal, so if you are you better make sure I’m dead on impact, you got it?”

Anton blinked a few times and then laughed so hard his belly shook. “I doubt such a thing will happen here.”

“Never hurts to set expectations.”

Tense moment now gone, Nick’s silly expression shifted back to his normal smug smile. He gestured toward the hallway they were standing in front of and then walked into it. Anton followed, ducking his head down ever so slightly in the cramped tunnel.

The Hopps family’s burrows were a mix of rammed earth and adobe, with the floors being weather resistant laminate. The hallways were narrow and arched at the top, which forced Anton to walk straight down the middle to have the most overhead room that he could get; even so, he still had to bow his head forward slightly to fit. Track lights lined the moulding, and the occasional sconces on the walls gave off a soft yellow light to further illuminate their path. Multitudes of family photo frames hung here and there. Support beams jutted down from the ceiling regularly enough to keep them on their toes.

“Beam, duck,” Nick warned as he passed beneath one. His ears flagged automatically now; he barely had to think about it. Muscle memory from many walks down these halls over the past couple of years, reinforced by this past week. But with the big bunny following behind he was trying to do his best to pay attention and call out changes in the floorplan as they occurred. He threw a small smile behind him and added, “A bit more to it than just dirty tunnels, huh?”

“Quite,” Anton agreed with some wonder at the intricate—almost synchronized—movements of the small bunnies moving around him and through these homey and rather beautiful thoroughfares. They were not made for a mammal of his size, but they suited perfectly the extensive family unit that he was days away from joining. “Consider my words eaten.”

“How’d they taste?”

“Bitter.”

Nick gave a short laugh. “Yeah, I get it.”

“I wondered if maybe you might.” He sighed. “I see clearly there will be some learning curve to manage. I have to adjust my own expectations. When Jackie said she had 275 siblings I thought it was a big exaggeration.”

“She does seem the type to make those on occasion.”

“Some, yes. Big words and big gestures.” He added quietly, “Big like her heart. I would like to fit so well here as she did when she was in the Heatherlands.”

Nick’s face softened. Experiencing the Burrows for the first time in general—and the Hopps family in particular—was an experience that he was now years removed from, but he still remembered it perfectly well. It could be called something of a culture shock, being dropped in the middle of an almost completely homogeneous mass of mammals he looked nothing like. Maybe he could help Anton navigate the family for a few days. He had a lot of accumulated tips and tricks up his sleeve now. He could do that, couldn’t he?

_FLASH! “…We’ll be able to steal some quality ‘us’ time away from the family soon. Bunny Scout’s honor.”_

Judy’s promise rose to the forefront of his brain, a reminder that jabbed him like an ostrich prod. He almost missed the turn to head toward the west addition, though he was able to recover without missing a beat.

 _Oh, no no no, dumb fox,_ he thought and shook his head hard. _You do NOT want to commit to that big of a project now._

Getting the guy set up in his room was one thing. Meals? Sure, fine, on occasion. But holding this rabbit’s paw through integration into the Hopps family was nothing so simple. Monitoring his progress, gauging the rumor mill, mitigating the naysayers, checking the pulse of family opinions and attempting to sway them… all of that took time. Something he was very reluctant at this point to offer now that he was literal hours away from real quality time with Judy. Time together, alone, away from the hundreds of overcritical ears and eyes. This wasn’t his job, and Judy’s obligations as Maid of Honor would be reduced now that the actual bride was present to finish things up. Let Jackie take care of it. Besides, watching out for your partner was part and parcel with the whole marriage deal, wasn’t it?

“Rabbits are rabbits are rabbits. I’m sure you’ll fit in well enough,” he fibbed, and then added another, “Beam.”

Anton ducked again and asked, “Is there any part of this place I will be able to stand upright fully?”

Nick tapped his chin. “The kitchen, for sure. It has a dome ceiling to allow steam and possible smoke to escape through the vents if there’s a mishap while cooking. It’s on this floor. The dining room is technically a floor down, but you can get to it from this one. It’s in the middle of all the hallways and open to both floors, so it’s also pretty spacious. Much higher ceiling. Besides that, you’ll probably get to be outside most of the time except for sleeping and meals.”

Anton sighed. “Well, I will be thankful for any small convenience.”

“It’ll be manageable, if not completely comfortable.” Nick pointed at the upcoming hallway’s end where the hall split into two. “We’re taking a right up ahead just here. Right is rooms, and left goes to the— _oof!_ ”

A light brown and blue torpedo came out of nowhere just as he stepped out into the cross hallway. The wind was knocked out of him in the ensuing tumble, though he’d experienced enough of them at this point to recover pretty quickly. Nick cracked his eyelid open at the huge, intense jade-green eyes that were peering at him from just an inch in front of his nose.

“Mr. Nick!”

“Cotton Candy, darlin’… more warning next time, please,” he eked out as he hauled himself into a sitting position with a groan. He rubbed his head. “Where’s the fire?”

“We have to hide!” The little doe hopped off and pulled on his paw to tug him to his feet, though the ensuing tugs didn’t accomplish any additional movement away from that spot. “Colin said there’s a monster outside gonna come eat us!”

Nick twitched his ears, but gave her a patient smile. “Colin was pulling your leg. I was just out there and it was monster free.”

She stopped pulling and asked with a trembly lip, “Promise?”

“I swear on my big fluffy tail.”

Cotton’s expression switched from fright to annoyance, and she rapid thumped the floor with her foot. “Ooooohhhh, mean ol’ Colin. I’m gonna yank his ears so hard.” She gave an abbreviated glance around and asked, “Where’s Auntie Judy?”

“She’s off with your Aunt Jackie getting wedding things together. I’m helping your future uncle get settled into their room.”

Nick motioned Anton around the corner. He tousled Cotton’s ears and said to him, “This is one of the next generation, Jackie and Judy’s niece Cotton. I like to call her Cotton Candy, because she’s made of fluff and tooth-rotting sweetness.” To Cotton, he said, “This is Anton. He’s going to be your new uncle.”

“ _Whoa_.” Judy’s niece tilted her head back and stared wide-eyed up at the new arrival standing behind Nick. She blinked, and asked, “What’s wrong with his face?”

Nick cleared his throat and said tersely, “Now, sweet pea, that’s not very—”

“He’s so big.” She poked his leg tentatively. “Like a tree.”

“Candy…”

“Can I climb him?”

“Cotton…”

“Can I climb you?”

“ _Cotton_.”

Her ears flattened at the scolding tone that had seeped into Nick’s voice, and her eyes dropped to study her shuffling feet. “Sorry, Mr. Nick.”

“I’m not the one you should be saying sorry to.”

She turned her body, though her face never lifted, in Anton’s direction and repeated, “Sorry, Mr. Anton.”

“It’s all right.” He shifted his feet a little and added, “If you wanted a ride, I would not say no… but outside would be better for this, don’t you think?”

Cotton looked up with enormous, hopeful eyes. Anton gave her a lopsided smile. She grinned and nodded excitedly.

“Alright, you little scamp, off with you,” Nick said, now noticing the traffic jam that they’d caused by blocking the two hallways. More than a few of the Hopps clan were waiting, faces neutral but lightly thumping feet giving away their impatience. “Go give Colin what for. We’ll see you again later I’m sure, okay?”

“Okay!” She turned on her heels and started skipping off, turning just once for a hearty wave and a “Bye!” before continuing on and out of sight.

Nick turned in the opposite direction. He squeezed past Anton and motioned for him to follow behind him once more. There was quiet in the hall for a little bit while the fox played back the scene with Cotton again.

_A monster?_

He frowned to himself. Not that the kits didn’t try to play pranks on each other often, so that wasn’t out of the ordinary. Somehow, though, the timing made him think they were making commentary at the same time about the recently transplanted mammal who looked just different enough to make belittling comments about.

Nick glanced back at Anton and said brightly, “ _Kits_ , am I right?”

Anton gave an absent nod. “Right.”

“Listen, take Cotton with a grain of salt. She’s a good girl, just… hasn’t got much of a filter. I think that’s part of why she’s Judy’s favorite niece, to be honest.” Nick backpawed one of the bags. “But anyway, see that? Already making friends. If you can get in the kits’ good graces, their parents will be pushovers.”

“Children are not hard to befriend.” Anton’s nose twitched and he added, “Other suggestions on getting along this week?”

“Honestly, I can think of just one bit of advice you’re really going to use while you’re here.”

_THUNK._

Nick winced at the tell-tale sound and looked back over his shoulder again.

“Mind your head.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The big bunny saga continues. Ignorance is bliss... but can Nick keep the Hopps family's snarky commentary away from the big bunny long enough to change their minds about him?
> 
> Stealthy acts of kindness ahead. Enjoy!

The abbreviated tour around the complex underground network of tunnels only lasted as long as Nick deemed strictly necessary. It was apparent after the third bonk to the forehead that the big bunny’s level of frustration was starting to approach the tipping point. Mild claustrophobia or no, Anton was visibly relieved to be back outdoors again once they’d dropped the luggage off in the room that he and Jackie would share for the rest of the week.

They stepped out into the bright mid-day sunshine and Anton gave a hearty overhead stretch followed by a loud yawn. Nick caught it and gave a more reserved one himself.

“It has been a long day already, hasn’t it?” he commented, and motioned for Anton to follow him.

“Very, yes,” Anton agreed, and fell in step beside him. “Long flights and time changes. Jackie can sleep anywhere, but I didn’t catch more than a few hour’s rest on either plane.”

“That’s rough.” Nick tapped his chin. “Have enough energy for a short walk? There’s a nice shady spot behind the zucchini field to stretch out and catch a few Zs before the lunch bell rings.”

Anton attempted to clip the next yawn short with a few hard blinks. “I would welcome any small nap at this point.”

Nick’s smile deepened. “Right this way, then.”

A short walk was not exactly the most accurate of descriptions, relatively speaking. It was shorter than, say, a half marathon. Still, crossing the length of the zucchini field in question to reach the stunted dogwood that marked its furthest corner was a substantial trek.

The excursion out across the Hopps farmland served an additional purpose for Nick besides just finding a quiet place for the big bunny to rest his eyes. The fields were sprawling with young kits, Judy’s cousins and nieces and nephews out playing while their parents worked. Cutting a line straight through them gave Nick the opportunity to assess some follow-up reactions to the newcomer away from adult supervision.

It wasn’t heartening.

Children laughed as a general rule when at play, of course, but throughout Nick’s childhood years he’d developed a particular talent for discerning the difference between play laughter and mocking laughter. The kind of hushed giggles that accompanied whispered unkind words. There were a lot of those leeching their way into his constantly moving ears. If Anton heard anything, he gave no indication, though judging by his drooping eyelids it didn’t seem that he was paying attention to much besides urging his feet to continue trudging along.

“Here we are,” Nick announced cheerfully once they were beneath the shade of the dogwood tree. A sturdy old bench was set beneath it and was wide enough to accommodate three or four rabbits, or just one Anton.

He sat heavily on it and leaned his head back against the trunk of the tree, eyes already closed and huffing breaths already starting to deepen. “The heat here is… something to get used to,” he managed, and pulled his collar out a little before setting his clasped paws in his lap.

“I suppose for a northern mammal like yourself it will,” Nick allowed. “I’d consider the weather mild today if it weren’t for the sun. A few more clouds would make a big difference, but the breeze is nice…”

There was no reason to continue the boring weather discussion any further. Anton’s mouth hung slightly open as he snored. Nick waved a paw in front of his face to make absolutely certain and then gave him a silent, two-finger salute. He turned and stalked into the fields to hunt down a few specific youngsters.

They weren’t all that difficult to track down. Cotton’s rambunctious older brother Colin loved to chew mint leaves. Nick had already caught a whiff while walking, so he let his nose lead him up and down the field to where the young buck was nearby. Colin led around a group of pre-teen kits that were notorious for getting into trouble. Their antics were mostly benign pranks, but in this particular regard Nick wasn’t inclined to allow them to ramp up their shenanigans.

He followed the minty scent and found at the end of the trail a group of four bucks, including Colin, sneaking peeks at the sleeping Flemish giant from the edge of the field. Their backs were turned as Nick approached from behind, silent as only a fox could be while sneaking up on unsuspecting prey.

“Heya, kids,” he said once he was right behind them, and they all leapt high in surprise. Their twitching ears and noses settled almost immediately when they realized that they hadn’t been joined by any of the adult rabbits but just Aunt Judy’s boyfriend.

Colin sighed. “It’s just Mr. Nick.” He thumped his foot on the ground a few times as he stretched his ears up high overhead, something he did to appear taller when he was anticipating a tussle. “Whadja sneak up on us for?”

“Why so jumpy?” Nick countered, and crossed his arms. “What are you all doing way out here, hmm? Kinda close to the edge of the kit-boundary, aren’t you?”

Colin rolled his eyes. “We’re just trying to get a closer look at the bunny golem.”

“‘Golem’?” Nick repeated, his voice tinged with annoyance. “So you _were_ talking about him when you scared your sister with that talk about a monster.”

“I mean, isn’t he one?’ He pointed. “Lookit ‘em!”

“He looks like a rabbit to me.”

Colin scoffed. “Barely.”

An assortment of snickers accompanied the mean comment. Nick’s expression darkened.

“I’m sure I don’t understand the nuances of rabbitton, but if he has feet like a rabbit and teeth like a rabbit and hops like a rabbit, then what else would he be?” Nick stepped around them, essentially putting himself between the kits and the object of their attention. “Now, I’d suggest engaging some manners and quit all this monster and golem garbage you’ve been spreading around before it comes back to bite you square in your fluffy little tail.”

The curled smirk that spread over Colin’s face just screamed “make me,” so Nick smoothed back his ears and leaned down over him with a devil-may-care smile.

“You seem to need incentive to behave like a civilized mammal, so let me give you some. I know for a fact that your Aunt Jackie still has to make the seating arrangement for the wedding this weekend.”

Colin scrunched his nose. “So?”

“ _So_ , if you all don’t lay off, I’ll make sure you’re at the tables that are furthest from the cake.”

There were stifled gasps.

Nick’s merciless grin widened. “Oh yeah. Say goodbye to seconds, you’ll be lucky to get any.”

Colin’s smirk wavered and then redoubled. “You wouldn’t. You’re too cool.”

“You haven’t seen my cool turn to ice, kid, but it’s getting close.” Nick’s eyes narrowed, boring into the young buck’s. “Try me. I dare you.”

The stare-down didn’t last long before Colin’s ears drooped and he tucked his head between his shoulders. “Sorry.”

“That’s better.” The _clang clang clang_ of the lunch chime rang clear out over the fields. Nick jerked his head back in the direction of the burrow. “Head back for lunch. Remember what I said and pass it along. Your dessert privileges are hanging by a thread.”

He held up his paw and made a _snip snip_ motion with his two fingers as the adolescents shuffled off. Nick watched them just long enough to confirm they weren’t taking any detours on the way to the Hopps home, then headed back in the direction of the dogwood.

When Nick returned to the tree, it appeared that Anton had already received something of a wake-up call. From a little brown doe in a blue skirt.

“Mr. Nick, look how tall I am!”

Cotton was standing up on Anton’s shoulders with her arms thrown up overhead in a victory Y. The big bunny gave his slow, patient lopsided smile as Nick sauntered over. He smiled himself and gave her a thumbs up.

“Nicely done, Candy,” he said, and she grinned wider down at him. “How was the climb?”

“Super easy,” she replied. “I only needed three jumps!”

“Wow, that’s impressive.”

“I tell her next time she should try to make it in one, I will be more impressed,” Anton said with a wink up at Cotton. She stuck her tongue out at him.

“I could do it,” she sulked. “I just din’t wanna.”

“I’ll believe this when I see it.”

Nick gave a short laugh. “How about we get some lunch first before attempting to defy the laws of physics, hmm?”

Cotton went to jump down from his shoulders when his massive paws clamped on her feet. Anton said, “A ride to make up for my teases.”

She squeaked with glee, took hold on his ears like they were reins and said, “Giddy up!”

They laughed together as they made their way through the fields and back to the house. Nick watched carefully around as the Hopps family members that had been out in the fields for the morning herded back in for some food and rest. Multiple pairs of eyes were cast in their direction as the other bunnies hurried ahead. The fox noted that the reactions were more curious than disapproving, which was certainly positive. He gave a sidelong glance at the newfound friendship forming beside him and turned his smile inward. Maybe the big bunny wasn’t going to have a bad go of it, after all.

“I can see the house from here!” Cotton said, pointing ahead toward the exterior structure that probably only she and Anton could get a proper view of from where they were in the fields.

“Can you also see your grandfather’s truck?” Nick asked her. “Or Aunt Judy and Jackie?”

She scanned her eyes all around very dramatically, but eventually shook her head.

“Sorry, Mr. Nick.”

Nick waved his paw at her. “Nevermind. I’m sure we’ll run into them soon enough.”

Lunch passed uneventfully, as it normally did. It wasn’t meant to be much more than a small bit of sustenance between the two main meals that the family spent together: breakfast and dinner. Platters with small wheat rolls spread with a thick vegetable hummus and baskets full of ripe apples were strategically placed out here and there around the buildings for the many members of the Hopps clan to come pick at. The group that had gone out into the fields for the morning were relieved by a new wave, and the many kits bounded in and around with their mouths full of apple. Nothing like a day spent outside to work up an appetite.

Though Nick and Anton did their best to find them, there was no sign of either Judy or Jackie at any of the near baskets. A text message confirmed that they weren’t even on the property anymore, attending to what Judy described as “extenuating circumstances” that needed additional time to sort through. They wouldn’t be back until closer to dinner.

“Well, we’ve got another few hours to kill before they’ll be back,” Nick said as he tucked his phone back in his pocket. “We could head back inside—”

Anton’s nose twitched in a rapid Morse code that Nick was pretty certain spelled out SOS. He smiled.

“—or I could give you the grand tour of the rest of the farm. There’s an ATV that might fit both of us. Unless you would rather try to get friendly with the rheas, which I wouldn’t suggest. They’re… _persnickety_.”

Anton chuckled and his nervous expression evaporated. “I would love to enjoy more of this beautiful land, I think.”

“Alright, then.” Nick waved him over his shoulder and headed toward one of the big barns. “Buckle up, Tiny. There’s an exhausting amount of stuff to see around this farm, so if you were tired before, _just wait_.”

Anton laughed. “Do the worst you can do.”

Nick grinned wide. “Famous last words.”

* * *

The sun had already started to dip below the horizon by the time Judy and Jackie returned back to the farm in Stu’s old truck. When they parked and hopped out of the cabin, they found Nick and Anton lounging on the porch, waiting for them to return. Jackie gave a little squeak of concern as she sprinted away from Judy and up the stairs to where her fiancé was barely keeping himself seated upright. ~~~~

“Oh my goodness, hunny bun,” she said, and took his cheeks between her paws. “You look like you’ve been run through a hay baler… twice!”

Jackie gave Anton a hug around his droopy head and cast a glance over at the equally dusty but nominally more conscious fox.

Nick shrugged at her. “Went for a ride around the farm. You know how off-roading gets.”

Jackie’s worried face dissolved to relief and then to amusement. “Oh boy, do I ever.” She shook Anton’s head between her paws a little as he smiled up at her sleepily. “Did you have fun?”

He nodded and then yawned. “Yes, though I look forward to sitting somewhere that is not shaking like a gull chick in a squall.” His stomach rumbled. “And has more food.”

Jackie laughed. “Well, by my watch we should all be sitting down for some grub real soon. Let’s head on in and get you cleaned up before we go down to the dining hall.”

Anton stood and draped his paw over her shoulder in a sideways embrace as they walked down the stairs and around the side of the house to go into the mudroom. It wasn’t until just then that Nick caught Judy’s eye. Her ears drooped so low they looked like they might slide right off her head. His own ears flattened as she started up the stairs toward him.

“I’ve seen longer faces, but they were on horses,” he said. She gave a feeble huff to acknowledge the attempt at levity. “Did something happen?”

“‘Something?’” she repeated in a harsh near-whisper. She walked straight past him and plopped herself hard on the porch swing; the chains rattled as she motioned with her paws in aggravation. “More like _everything._ Jackie’s scatterbrained almost all the prep work I’d already done right back to the start! I don’t know how we’re going to have everything ready by next weekend with all the changes she’s insisting on now. I didn’t take my sister for the bridezilla type but… ugh!”

She gave an exasperated groan and crisscrossed her ears over her eyes. Nick paused for a moment, then also made his way up the stairs to sit on the swing beside her. He put his paw around her shoulder.

“How lucky for Jackie that you’re so resourceful,” he said. Judy scoffed and let her ears go, though they stayed drooped behind her. Nick gave her a sideways squeeze and planted a light kiss on her head. “I take it that handing things off now is pretty much impossible, huh?”

He felt her deflate. “Didn’t take long at all for me to break my promise to you.”

They sat in quasi-silence for a time, nothing but the sounds of the country around them. He considered how to respond. To say he wasn’t disappointed would have been a blatant lie, but to admit that would have just poured lemon juice over an open wound. It was obvious Judy was equally frustrated; he knew how hard she’d worked up until now on the very preparations that had just been undone on her. He missed spending time with her, just the two of them, but if he had to wait a little while longer then he could at least think of something to fill the hours.

It looked like Tiny was getting a chaperone after all.

Nick gave her a gentle nudge. “Nah, don’t think of it like that. It’s not really broken. Let’s just call it _deferred_.”

Judy’s droopy ears popped back up as she eyed him warily. “‘Deferred’?” she repeated. “And what kind of interest am I accruing during the deferment?”

He cocked his head, eyes crinkled with amusement. “We can discuss the terms and conditions after the length of the accrual period has been determined.”

She crossed her arms and sulked. “Jackie owes me _big time_.”

“Somehow I’m confident you’ll make sure she never forgets it.”

Judy let a little smirk pull at her lips. “I do still have a speech to write.”

“Prime time for a little payback?”

“Oh yeah.” Judy rubbed her paws together in a not at all devious way. “But that can wait until later. Right now, what I really want is some good eats. Let’s get down there before there’s nothing left.”

She edged off the swing, a little bounce in her step once more. Nick donned his smug smile and rose from the seat to follow her in.

“Let’s hope Bonnie adjusted for the extra big place setting,” he said lightly, “or it’s very possible that might be an actual concern.”

* * *

The dining room of the Hopps home was enormous and domed, with multiple tables and chairs of every shape placed around it. Circular, square, long, low, high, all paw-made over the course of generations. There was a certain logic as to who sat where, with the young kids taking up a few of the long, low tables and the adults mostly sitting with immediate family and littermates.

Bonnie and Stu were never at the same table twice in one week. Unlike their children and grandchildren who typically ate with the same family members at each meal, the two heads of the Hopps family rotated around the dining room each day, sometimes sitting at more than one table in the course of a single mealtime. Tonight, though, they set themselves in the middle of the dining room at a sturdy rectangular table made of old oak. It had benches rather than chairs to sit on, and was one of Nick’s personal favorites to snag whenever he could manage it.

Anton had gotten himself dusted off and changed into a comfy red sweater and jeans. Being able to sit comfortably inside around a suitably sized table, even with the tons of dirt over his head, put him in livelier spirits, though not nearly so lively as those of his intended.

“Oh, how I missed the smell of this place. Ocean spray is nice and all, but a burrow and all the smells of home cooking, mmmmmm!” She smacked her lips once the trays and bowls of food had been set out. “Thank goodness for your sweet potato casserole, Mom. I was hoping, you know.”

“I reckoned you might be,” Bonnie said, and ladled an extra scoop onto Jackie’s plate. “t’wouldn’t be right to have anything else for dinner the night you came home, pumpkin.”

They laid into the food trays once they’d been distributed to the tables. Conversation remained upbeat, mostly with Jackie sharing stories from time overseas and Judy’s parents breaking out a few good “that time Jackie and Judy” stories. What bitterness Judy may have felt before dinner seemed to have been forgotten, and she joined in on the riotous laughter that was erupting every few minutes. Jackie’s enthusiasm was infectious and even the family members at the tables nearby started lobbing questions at her about what she’d been up to since being away from home.

Nick only paid attention to half the things that they were saying around the table. His ears were swiveling, tuning into conversation snippets at other tables instead. One would think that the snarky commentary would be kept between their ears considering the kinds of ears rabbits had, but Nick still managed to pick up on a couple of real gems here and there.

“…but she’s so _pretty_ , why settle for someone like…”

“…looks like a real dim bulb, dun’t he?”

“…completely _ruin_ all the wedding photos…”

Nick sighed. Nothing could ever be easy, could it? He had a fair idea of where the detractors were amongst the many branches of Judy’s family tree. Cotton’s mother, for example, he was certain of and hearing her voice didn’t surprise him in the least. Nasty memories resurfaced just behind his collected demeanor, the same sorts of knee-jerk assumptions he’d had to swallow those first few visits Judy brought him to the farm no longer as friend and colleague but significant other. Not things he liked revisiting; certainly not during an otherwise nice dinner. He tuned his attention back to his table more fully as the conversation began to settle down a little more and let the naysayers fade to the background.

He had time to sway their judgment. If he played his cards right, it wouldn’t even take the whole week.

“Such a treat, Mrs. Hopps,” Anton said to Bonnie when the trays of food had been annihilated and big bowls of pudding had been set out for dessert. “Thank you for such a delicious meal. I can see where Jackie gets her skill around a stove.”

Bonnie laughed lightly. “Oh, you give me too much credit. I barely lift a spoon these days. Spot checks for the lot that’s on dinner detail, is all.”

“Well, it was amazing, as always,” Jackie said and licked her fingers clean. “I can’t wait to start bringing you our harvests once the floating fields start producing, Mom. We’ll have tons of kelp to work with before year’s end, I’m sure. I’ve got a bunch of new recipes for you to try out. You’ll get a feel for working with kelp real quick, it’s so simple to use.”

“Blech, wilted greens’ll do me a right turn,” Stu said as he raised his lip in disgust. “I can’t believe anyone would farm kelp.”

“Oh, Dad, it’s actually really healthy for you,” Judy chimed in.

“And a heck of a fast-growing crop,” Jackie added. “We’ll be able to start building up our vendors within the next year. How long did it take you to scratch a living out of the land here, huh?”

“Hmph,” Stu said, and shoveled some pudding into his mouth. “Just dunno who’d line up to buy the stuff, is all.”

Jackie’s face turned smugger than Nick’s and she said, “It’s in the pudding you’re eating right now.”

Stu looked down at his bowl in disbelief and horror for a few seconds. Nick reached over and patted his shoulder.

“I know,” he said very seriously. “Ruined it for me, too.”

The ladies all laughed at his devastated reaction, and Jackie launched into plans for their house and the spit of property that they’d snagged by the bay, talking passionately about her dream that was mere days away from becoming a reality.

The kids were the first to finish their dessert, naturally, and they all began the after-dinner rambunctious antics that were customary for young children burning off a sugar. They chased each other around the tables, though it was obvious by the continuous path that they took that their innate desire was to pause at the table with the peculiar new mammal sitting at it.

Cotton was the first to peel off and stick around, climbing up without any hesitation to sit between Anton and her Aunt Jackie while they talked. Others of the kits also took her lead before long, and eventually Anton was no longer engaging in conversation with the adults at the table, but sitting backward and talking with a small gaggle of youngsters.

Nick observed surreptitiously from the corner of his eye, though the conversation seemed benign enough, mostly focused on saying silly things. Anton had tossed around enough words in his native tongue by now—most of them terms of affection for Jackie, from what Nick could tell—and the kids latched onto the peculiarities quickly, now challenging him to say things in Common just to hear what they would sound like with his accent.

“Twelve twins twirled twelve twigs!”

“No, she sells seashells by the seashore!”

“Seashells sea sells by the… wait, what sentence is this?” The kits laughed at the exaggerated confusion on his face and then he said, “Oh, maybe I’m not so good with your silly twisty language. Maybe you can do better with mine?”

“Oh, hun, don’t,” Jackie said to him, now tuning into what was happening behind her. “It’s hardly fair.”

“No no, I want to see this,” Nick said with a nod at Anton. “Do it, Tiny. Make ‘em cry a little if you can.”

He tapped his chin and said, “Maybe try this one: _zelden zagen wij zagende zagen zo zagen als wij onze zagende zagen zagen zagen_.”

The children froze in place, blinking. None of them even attempted to repeat the brutal tongue twister.

“No? A simpler one, maybe. _Als achter vliegen vliegen vliegen, vliegen vliegen vliegensvlug_.”

Well, that one had all the youngsters in stitches as they just continuously repeated the word _vliegen_ over and over and over again without ceasing. Jackie and Judy both shook their heads as the kids sprinted off giggling, and Nick leaned back against his chair with a satisfied smirk.

He was going to miss his quality time with Judy during the coming days, for sure, but at the very least he was certain he could count on a few laughs hanging around the farm with the likes of someone like Tiny.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to exewon and Felix in ZAA for their help with those Dutch tongue twisters. ^_^


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coming to a boil now. XD

“Hey.”

Nick awoke to a whisper in his ear followed by the soft sensation of a peck on his cheek. He cracked one eye open to find Judy out of bed and already dressed for the day in a short sleeved blue top and overalls.

He yawned. “What time is it?”

“Early. Jackie and I are heading out to get started on these… _adjustments_.” She grabbed a notepad bursting with loose papers from the little desk by the wall and stuffed it in the pouch pocket of her overalls. She went to the open doorway and paused. “It looks like rain is coming later, so I hope we’ll be back before then.”

Nick sat up and stretched. “Don’t worry about me and Tiny. We’ll be able to manage until you two get back.”

Judy gave him a thumbs up. “If you need Mom or Dad for anything, they’ll be at the road stand this morning as long as the weather holds. Stay out of trouble.”

He gave her a smirk. “I make absolutely no promises.”

“Of course you don’t.” She smiled back. “Do your best, dumb fox. I’ll see you later.”

A quick little wave and she was gone.

Nick waved at the empty room and yawned again. He swung his legs out over the edge of the small bed and stood, cracking his back as he did so. That was one thing about the burrows he wouldn’t miss when they got back to the city: bunny mattresses. Too small and too firm for him. Even the old drawer he used to sleep in before he and Judy found their new apartment was more comfortable.

He gave his fur a quick brush and dressed in one of his more obnoxious Pawaiian shirts and khaki pants before heading out into the hallways. His path aimed in the general direction of the dining room to grab a little something to eat. It was the breakfast hour, so many of the tables were already filled with members of the Hopps clan. Nick was surprised to find Anton also already there, though this meal, it seemed, he was eating alone. He pushed what remained of his chosen food around his plate with his fork, looking rather sullen until Nick plunked himself down at the table.

“Good morning, Tiny,” Nick said cheerfully as he sat.

The big bunny glanced up at the fox and quirked a small, lopsided smile. “Good morning.”

“Did the breakfast crew scorch the hashbrowns today?” Nick asked as he indicated the remnants on Anton’s plate. “What’s got you looking so down?”

He sighed and pushed his plate away. “It is not the food. I did not sleep well last night, and it will be another long day without Jackie. I would say I am lonely, but there are so many here that it seems ridiculous to say that.”

“No, I totally get it.” Nick leaned over and plucked a blueberry from the remaining fruit salad on the place. He popped it in his mouth as he continued. “A mammal like you is used to doing and going out and being involved. Since you’ve landed you’ve been trying to figure out what to do with yourself without Jackie. What you need right now is a job.”

Anton looked thoughtful. “Perhaps you’re right. Most days I am already out early to prepare for work. If not, then I help my father prepare for his. I’m not used to waking and having nothing waiting for me.”

Nick put his chin in his paw and tapped the table in thought. “Well, why don’t we do a job, then? Judy said that Bonnie and Stu are offloading their surplus harvest on the little farm stand they have out by the road. Extra paws are usually welcome. I bet you can lift a couple of those crates at once.”

Anton’s expression lightened to cautious optimism. “I think I would very much like to be of some use until Jackie and Judy return from their tasks today.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do.”

Anton tossed the mostly empty plate and its remains into one of the bins for pick up and started out of the dining room. Nick grabbed an apple to crunch on from one of the fruit bowls on the way out as Anton followed.

Outside, the sky was slate gray from a front that had moved in during the night. The temperature had taken a dip as well, and the cool breeze was a refreshing change from the heat of yesterday. Anton seemed pleased with the reduced heat index, though the cloudy skies overhead made his forehead wrinkle. His nose twitched as he sniffed the air.

“A storm is coming,” he said, voice wavering.

“There’s supposed to be some drizzles later on,” Nick said nonchalantly. He added over his shoulder, “I still figure it’s better to find some use out here. Unless you want to keep renovating the burrow with your forehead.”

That earned a sharp laugh as Anton caught up and they continued walking down the dusty path in the direction of the stand far off in the distance. All along the way there were crates of produce that were being filled with this and that vegetable or fruit, mostly blueberries, zucchini, and tomatoes. A few were already filled to the top and ready to be taken to the stand to be sold by the roadside.

Nick pointed at one of the crates filled with zucchinis and said, “You take that one, and I’ll get this one over here. We’ll walk them down and see what else they might need help with. It’s a Monday, so business might be a bit slow, but I’m sure Bonnie and Stu can find something we can do for a while until Judy and Jackie come back.”

Anton nodded and lifted the crate that Nick had indicated easily between his paws. Nick pilfered a pawful of blueberries from the top of his to stuff in his mouth

“Mmmm, these are even better than usual,” he commented as he finished swallowing and lifted the crate up. He added to Anton in a stage whisper, “Be a pal and keep that on the down-low.”

Anton laughed. “My lips are sealed.”

“That’s a good mam.”

They continued walking down the road in comfortable quiet toward the farm stand. In the early days of the Hopps family, the farm stand and local farmer’s market events were their sole source of income. Nowadays, though, most of the produce that the farm grew was commercially packaged and sent into the boroughs and city, so the little farm stand had more become a small way to personally keep some of it in their more immediate community. Even though it wasn’t doing much for their bottom line, it was still a source of pride that they wanted to keep going. They’d even recently expanded it so there was a section available to sell a selection of baked goods from Gideon Gray’s bakery.

The Hopps farm stand was typically managed on a rotation each day, with Bonnie and Stu coming around once or twice a week to oversee the outgoing produce and get a rundown of incoming profits.

There was a small group of children playing out in one of the fields, one that was still mostly soil with lines of very small, three-leaf seedlings popping out from the ground. The interspersed lines of bright blue nighthowler flowers were a constant reminder to Nick how he ended up in this place among these rabbits.

The fox and big bunny arrived to a very enthusiastic greeting.

“Mr. Nick! Mr. Anton! Hi!” Cotton broke off from the other young kits frolicking nearby and hurried over to them, waving enthusiastically. She was wearing a pink shirt sporting a silhouette of Gazelle that looked just slightly too big for her. It slid just off one shoulder as she came bounding up to them.

“Heya, Cotton Candy,” Nick said, and dropped his crate behind the stand where a few others already were. “Fancy meeting you out here.”

“Good morning, little miss,” Anton added, following suit and putting his own crate next to Nick’s.

Nick cast his eyes around the immediate vicinity of the stand for the Hopps family heads, but didn’t see either of them. “Where are your grandparents?”

Cotton pointed vaguely at the road. “Grandma and Grandpa are coming back from Mr. Gideon’s with pies for the table.”

“Ah, I see,” Nick said noncommittally and threw on a careless smile. Run-ins with the only other fox to visit the Hopps Farmstead with any real frequency were few for Nick, though not entirely unpleasant. From what Judy mentioned of her recent planning for Jackie, he was taking care of the cake and assorted sweets that would be at the wedding, including mini blueberry tarts. Nick was hopeful that particular part of the menu wasn’t going to be impacted by whatever changes were currently in process. “And who else is on farm stand detail today? Mom or Dad? Or both?”

Cotton swung her finger to point toward a small shed nearby. “Mom’s getting the cashbox and newspapers n—”

“ _Away from the crates, Cotton!_ ”

The little doe’s ears flagged and she turned around with a guilty expression as her mother came up from behind the pile of boxes. She crossed her arms over her plump middle and smiled a thin, forced smile at her daughter.

Marcy Hopps was younger than Judy, with three litters already and another on the way. Where Cotton was bright and cheerful, her mother Marcy was in a constant state of mild irritation toward pretty much everything that she didn’t personally like or agree with. One of those things was Nick and, from what he had gleaned from last night’s surreptitious conversations, Jackie’s future husband.

Well, this was as good a time as any to start trying to smooth over the initial barbed impressions.

“Come on, sweetie, it’s dangerous over here,” she added, and nodded toward the other children nearby. “Back in the field, please. Stay away from the road.”

Cotton skirted around her mom and the boxes, then bolted off and into the fields toward the other kits playing tag. Marcy’s intense gaze followed after her until she was certain her daughter had ended up exactly where she wanted her to be. She swung her eyes back around and gave the fox and big bunny a bored look.

“Good morning, Nick and, uh…” She wiggled her nose at the Flemish Giant. “I’m sorry, I can’t remember your name.”

His ears seemed to droop even lower. “Anton.”

“Right. Anton. Good morning.” Marcy offered a small, false smile and said, “Are you looking for Mom and Dad?”

Nick flashed her a hammy grin. “We’re actually hoping you can put us to work for a few hours until the Js are back from their errands.”

Her expression lifted slightly into one of pleasant surprise, which Nick found encouraging. One thing Marcy did hold in better favor (however slight) was anyone who made things more convenient for her.

“Well, I won’t turn away free labor. The buns in the oven gave me such heartburn this morning, I almost didn’t make it out here at all. Really been dragging, as you can see.” She indicated the pile of crates. “This is barely half.”

“Hoo boy, yeah. Really slacking,” Nick said sarcastically, and pointed back down the lane. “Can we go grab the rest for you, then?”

“And arrange them neatly in the display boxes on the stand.” She pointed. “The labels are there, and we’re going to see the regulars coming up within the next half hour, so chop chop!”

She clapped her paws together to accentuate her words, and turned to head back to the stand. Nick and Anton exchanged a look, and then also traded wry smiles.

“Well, you heard the lady,” Nick whispered, then made a cutting motion with his paws. “Chop chop!”

Anton contained the laugh that was about to escape and they turned back in the direction of the lane full of crates waiting for them. They started out normally, lugging back one at a time, but it escalated in short order. First it was how fast they could bring them back, turning the errand into a little race. Then it quickly turned into who could bring back the most crates, which was close until Anton started carrying multiple crates at once. By the time they were on the last trip, the fox was wiped out, and the big bunny still looked like he could bench press a bull without any difficulty.

“Okay, I’m officially crying uncle,” the fox said, gripping his knees as he panted. He waved an imaginary white flag over his head. “You win this one. I’ll get you next time, Tiny. _Next time_.”

Anton laughed and curled his bicep playfully. “All my thanks go to _Ellemijn Roos_.”

Nick plopped down on the ground with a grunt. “Who’s that?”

“The name of my father’s boat.”

“Oh.” There was a small lull during which Anton’s expression seemed to grow somber. Nick considered, and asked softly, “Do you miss it? I mean, you’re here for the duration, aren’t you?”

Anton nodded. “Yes, and yes. I will see my father when he comes for the wedding, and my sister and her boys, but I think probably I will not see _Ellemijn_ again for a long time.”

Nick backpawed Anton’s leg. “You’ll be wrestling with lines on another deck soon enough.”

“True… soon, alongside my _liefste_. It will be the life we always imagined together. Soon.”

“You’re in the homestretch now.”

Anton yawned, and shook his head hard immediately after. He smacked his cheeks a little and said, “If only I can find more sleep, the time would go faster.”

“Well, I know another thing that makes time fly.” Nick nodded toward the ruckus still going on in the field nearby. He winked and hauled himself back to his feet. “Come on. Let’s get those last few crates and help keep the kids busy. A little romp with Cotton will make her happy, make her mom happy, make _you_ happy, and eat up some more of those pesky minutes.”

Anton put a big paw on Nick’s shoulder and pushed him firmly back to sitting. “You stay here. I think next batch you try to lift your arms will snap like twigs.”

Nick laughed and put his paw to his chest. “Ouch, my pride. Tap my fuzzies in while you’re at it, why don’t you?” Anton started off back down the lane chuckling and Nick added after him, “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I have them,” he replied and waved over his shoulder. “Start the other things so we can be done.”

Nick saluted at the big bunny’s back. With a groan he again got to his feet and evaluated the crates. There were an assortment of vegetables and some summer fruits like strawberries and, of course, blueberries. He snitched another pawful of these and brought them over to the stand to start arranging in their rightful spots with the price labels.

Marcy hadn’t been doing much besides scrolling through her phone while they worked, but by the time Nick started putting out the produce there were local patrons to serve. The first few batches were older rabbits, couples with empty burrows out for their morning walk for the ingredients that they’d use for their suppers.

The sky overhead was holding onto the drab, light gray cloud cover, keeping the hot sun at bay, much to Nick’s relief. It was definitely going to start raining just like the forecast had said, but the clouds didn’t seem willing to give up the precipitation just yet.

By the time Anton returned with the last three crates all stacked together on top of each other, Bonnie and Stu had arrived from Gideon’s bakery. The truck parked beneath the nearby tree and they hopped down from the cab.

“Nicholas, Anton!” Stu called to them and waved them to come over. He came around to the truck bed and brought the tailgate down to reveal more than a dozen pastry boxes. “Wouldja mind giving me a hand with these pies here?”

“Nice of you boys to come out and help with the stand this mornin’,” Bonnie added as they came over to the truck. She stacked a few boxes in Nick’s paws while Stu took care of loading an equal number on Anton.

“Seemed a good way to burn off some pre-wedding doldrums before the storm clouds bring the rain,” Nick said casually aside to her as they started away, and tossed a nod back at the big bunny just behind them.

“I am surprised at how much is left yet to arrange for all that,” she commented, and placed her pies down on the table. No sooner had they hit the wood than they were picked up by an elderly doe waiting patiently nearby for the opportunity to grab them.

“Jackie has gotten a bit particular about some things. I’m sure Judy’s reining her in well enough.”

“One can only hope,” the Hopps matriarch said with a sigh. “My Jacqueline has always been a pawful.”

“So has Judy, I hear.” Nick winked. “She can take it. It’ll be fine.”

Bonnie smiled. “Well, from where I’m standing, if anyone can make it work, it’s Judy.”

“That’s what I said!” He gestured back and forth between them. “Great minds.”

She laughed and waved him off, then went over to the farm stand to talk to Marcy, who was again sitting in the chair with her phone in paw. She looked up as another of the patrons came up to start completing her purchases and Nick left the two Hopps does to their business.

By this time the kits had begun kicking a small red ball around between them. Nick came up beside Anton while he was watching and elbowed his side.

“You let those kits run you around a bit and I bet sleep won’t be any problem for you tonight.”

Anton looked down with a distinctly wary version of his half-smile. “I admit I am somewhat hesitant trying to keep track of a ball and also children beneath my feet.”

Nick waved the comment off. “These kits are experts at getting out from underfoot, believe me. Ridiculous reflexes. Go on, you’ll see.”

He gave a little shove and Anton walked out into the field, hesitation making his gait even slower than usual. Luckily, Cotton saw him coming and began bouncing up and down with excitement. She bounded over, binkied around and then between his feet, and took hold of his one finger to pull him over more quickly. He picked up his feet and complied in short order.

A couple of hours went by pleasantly in this way, with Bonnie and Stu helping Marcy with their customers, Nick steadily replenishing the inventory in the stand from the crates, and Anton keeping the children busy in the empty fields. For how slow his movements were when he was in no hurry, he could be rather nimble on his feet when he wanted. The children were initially hesitant to make concessions for the Flemish Giant, but once he proved he could maneuver just as well as they could—as well as do a few tricks—they were tickled to have a new playmate.

Nick ended up the referee more than once, and was the unofficial ball retriever when they got overzealous. Several of the produce crates were empty by the time the first rumble went out in the sky. It made Anton’s ears actually raise and his nose twitched as he regarded the fast-moving clouds overhead.

“Rain is coming,” he said, and gestured for the children to come back to the stand to leave. “Back in we go.”

A chorus of “awwww”s went up, but the kits were less willing to stop their game on account of rain than Anton was. He was back to the stand far before they were, and turned to find them still kicking the ball about.

“Don’t worry about the young’uns. They’ll come along soon enough,” Bonnie said to him and gestured at the stack of now empty crates. “Let’s hop to it and get these put back in the shed over there. We’ll pack up the leftover produce and pies into the truck for the dinner crew to use for toni—”

“HEAD’S UP!”

The adults snapped their heads around to find the red kickball hurtling toward them at breakneck speed. Given the trajectory it was on, the ball would definitely hit the farm stand and probably Marcy, also. Nick and Bonnie ducked out of reflex, but Anton attempted to intercept it. Unfortunately, he failed to take note of where all the empty crates were around his feet before doing so. He stepped directly in one just as his paw met the ball and instead of catching it, he diverted its path to the side table where all the pastries were.

It was a catastrophe in slow motion, a train wreck that Nick couldn’t look away from any more than he could try to prevent it. The ball gained extra momentum from the big bunny’s swat and knocked two of the pie stacks over right onto the ground. The boxes opened, splattering pie filling and crust everywhere. Anton, meanwhile, lost his balance from the box that had tripped up his feet and fell hard against the farm stand. At first it looked like it would take the brunt of the impact without issue, but then slowly started to tilt. And tilt. And _tilt_. The more he tried to push himself off of it the more it tilted until the overhead sign cracked into the nearby tree and split right down the middle. Veggies and fruits alike dumped from their bins, scattering all over the ground.

And if that wasn’t enough, the heavy clouds overhead picked just that moment to open up, pouring buckets of rain on the now screaming children, an obviously exasperated Marcy, the flabbergasted Bonnie and Stu, and a completely devastated Anton.

Nick stood as the rain immediately and thoroughly soaked him through to his bones, and pinched the bridge of his nose. All his internal monologue could put together to sum up the whole debacle was one of those country-isms that Judy tossed around every so often.

_When it rains, it pours._


End file.
